Hong Kong’s men’s rugby team is on the brink of securing its first Asian Rugby Championship title in the modern era, and reaching the second stage of the qualification process to determine the 20^th team at Rugby World Cup 2019, the first world championship hosted in Asia next year in Japan. 

Coach Leigh Jones’ men have done the hard work to date, with wins in both away matches in the regional Rugby World Cup qualification process, and are now within striking distance of a spot in the home and away series versus Cook Islands next month - reserved for the winners of the Asia Rugby Championship.

An impressive performance against Malaysia in the first of two home weekends for Hong Kong Rugby on Saturday (kick off at 16.00) will go a long way towards making one of several squad goals this season a reality.

Hong Kong enter the competition’s final home stand three points adrift of South Korea in points differential, but with a game - and a crucial 30-21 away win over the Koreans earlier this month - in hand.

With perennial winners Japan having already qualified for the World Cup, Malaysia are making their debut in the region’s premier rugby competition this season.

“Malaysia have really added something. They bring another flavour and we have really enjoyed having them on board,” said Jones.

“They’ve done remarkably well to get their rugby to the level it is. I think they’ll learn a lot from this tournament and I hope they continue to grow. Up until this point they haven’t thrown in the towel in any match. They’ve shown great spirit, and fought right to the end in every match and I expect the same this week,” Jones said.

Hong Kong’s growing strength in depth will be on display against the Malaysians with 14 changes from the squad used in the away legs, as Jones looks to increase competition for places within the team and keep players fresh.

Four potential new caps have been included on the reserves bench, including USRC Tigers’ Ted Soppet and a trio of players from HKFC in Ronan Donnelly and Cris Pierrepont and Henry Poon.  Despite the changes, Jones is keeping his side focused on the task at hand.

“I’ve challenged the guys for Saturday that this match with Malaysia is the most important game in Hong Kong’s rugby history. This is a massive game. We now have two cup finals on the trot effectively, although for different reasons.

“That was a hugely important win for us in Korea. We stopped them from getting a bonus point as well, so we have done the hard work now, and we just need to close that out with another performance against them at home.

“If we can do a thorough and professional job on Malaysia that will mean Korea has to chase significant points difference on us and that will put them under immense pressure. The larger the score line on Saturday, the more pressure we are heaping on Korea,” said Jones.

Despite being close to reaching the Rugby World Cup repechage stage for a third straight go - Jones is after more.

“Even though we have been there before (in the repechage), I am not sure that there has been the same level of expectancy previously. The fact that we qualified for the repechage then was perhaps enough, but we have made it quite clear to coaches and players that just qualifying is no longer enough.

“We want to go to the RWC and we make no secret about that fact, but we have a couple of important games to get out of the way first,” Jones added.

The winners of the Asia Rugby championship will advance to a home and away series against Oceania qualifiers Cook Islands on 30 June and 7 July.  The winners of that series will book their spot in the final four-team international qualifier to determine the 20^th team at Rugby World Cup 2019 in France in November.

As a timely reminder of what is at stake in the coming weeks, the William Webb Ellis Cup, presented to the winners of the quadrennial World Cup, will be in Hong Kong ahead of the match and is available for viewing on 26 May.

Hong Kong Squad vs Malaysia (Asia Rugby Championship 26 May)

1. Adam FULLGRABE, 2. Jamie TSANG (c), 3. Jack PARFITT, 4. Jamie PINCOTT, 5. Jack DELAFORCE, 6. Nicholas HEWSON, 7. Philip WHIFIELD, 8. Kane BOUCAUT, 9. Jamie LAUDER, 10. Matthew ROSSLEE, 11. Max DENMARK, 12. Benjamin RIMENE, 13. Tyler SPITZ, 14. Conor HARTLEY, 15. Rob KEITH, 16. Ted SOPPET*, 17. Callum McFEAT-SMITH, 18. Ronan DONNELLY*, 19. Thomas LAMBOLEY, 20. Michael PARFITT, 21. Cris PIERREPONT*, 22. Henry POON*, 23. Jack NEVILLE, 24. Kyle SULLIVAN

* Potential first cap